Fat Kids + Ignorant Parents = Big Problem

If you’re a mom or dad who thinks your child couldn’t be more perfect, consider this: a study of more than 1,200 families in Australia found that 60 percent of parents were unaware their kids were overweight — and overweight parents were the worst at identifying the problem.

According to the CDC, the prevalence of overweight children ages 6 to 11 has more than doubled in the past 20 years, jumping from 7 percent in 1980 to 18.8 percent in 2004. Among adolescents ages 12 to 19 the rate has more than tripled, skyrocketing from 5 percent to 17.1 percent.

Perhaps the fact that so many kids are overweight or obese has distorted our frame of reference so that we can’t identify what “healthy” is just by looking anymore.

Eliminate the guesswork and check to see if your child’s BMI (body mass index) is within a normal range by going to the CDC Web site.